. >> reporter: in the small town of montpelier, vermont the wayside restaurant is known for being one of the best and busiest diners. more than 1,000 people eat here each week. when civic officials suggested they start to recycle the food waste, the owner scoffed at the suggestion. >> at that time i said no way. we're too busy of a restaurant to be taking the time out to compost. >> reporter: he changed his mind when he discovered recycling food scraps could save him money. instead of having to pay the city to carry away the restaurant garbage to the landfill, he would be charged nothing. the business's organic waste was diverted to recycling. >> we collect food scraps because whether they go into the landfill, they turn into methane, which is one of the most powerful greenhouse gases. we take them to composters so they can be reclaimed into the soil. >> reporter: the city of montpelier is isn't just being environmentally conscious but it has a space problem. the only landfill is filling up quickly and expensive to run. it's a problem facing many states all over america. they're simpl

. >> in the small town of montpelier vermont, more than a thousand people eat here each week.hen officials suggested the restaurant recycle food waste, the openers scoffed at the suggestion. >> at that time, i said no way. we're too busy of a restaurant to be taking the timeout to com post. >> he changed his mind when he discovered recycling food scraps could save him money. instead of having to pay the city to carry away the garbage to a landfill, he would be charged nothing. business's organic waste was divert the to recycling. >> we collect food scraps because when they go into the landfill, they turn into methane, one of the most powerful greenhouse gases. we take them to com posters to be reclaimed into the oil. >> the city isn't just being environmentally conscious, it also has a space problem. the town's only landfill is filling up quickly, and expensive to run. it's a problem facing many states all over america. they're simply running out of room for all their trash. the scale of the problem is a wake up call for local officials around the u.s. who are now looking to v